The New England Revolution was completely off this past weekend, as they didn’t have either a game or practice scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.
Often times, the Revolution will stay active during bye weeks by arranging a friendly with a second division club or college team, such as the Western Mass Pioneers or Boston College, and participate in light training. But considering the Revolution have had a number of injuries to some key players in recent weeks, and that they have a tough stretch ahead in their final 10 games of the season, taking a short break had its advantages.
Here are some notes for start of this week:
- As of Monday morning, the Revolution sits firmly in fifth place in the conference. Every result broke in the Revs’ favor this weekend, the Red Bulls, D.C. United, and Toronto FC all did their jobs and kept NYCFC, Montreal, and Orlando City SC below fifth place.
- The Revolution is currently sandwiched between Montreal and Toronto in the standings. Both Canadian clubs have played fewer games than the Revolution, though that won’t matter too much if Orlando and NYCFC, who are just about caught up with the Revs in terms of games played, continue to stay out of playoff contention.
You’d expect NYCFC to improve in the coming weeks now that they have Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, Mix Diskerud, and David Villa on the same field, but it may take some time for all the parties involved to gel. Orlando, meanwhile, has largely been an up and down team throughout the season. The Revolution final meeting with Orlando on Sept. 5 at home could shape up to be one of the most important games of the season.
- This weekend’s game against Houston at home is the last time the Revolution plays a Western Conference foe this season. The pressure ramps up with the summer months ending and a full slate of Eastern Conference teams to play.
- Only three of the Revolution’s final 10 games (twice against Philadelphia once versus Chicago) feature opponents that have consistently been in the basement of the conference.
- Jose Goncalves told me last week that making the playoffs—and the final, obviously—will be harder this year than ever before. He credits the arrival of international stars like Pirlo, Drogba, and Lampard.
- With that said, seeing how the Revolution deal with those star players in games against Montreal, Orlando, and NYCFC might give us an inkling as to how far they could go in the playoffs.
- In my humble opinion, the Supporters’ Shield race is down to Los Angeles, D.C., and Vancouver. LA are de-facto favorites take it. However, their showdown this coming weekend with Dallas is a key match-up.
- As for the Revolution, they’ve been out of that race since June. They’re two-month-long stretch of blowing leads and throwing away points killed their chances of winning the Shield.
- Negotiations in Boston are still ongoing for an urban, soccer-specific stadium. A source close to the negotiations tells me that Robert Kraft, owner of the Revolution, is eager to get this project signed, sealed, and delivered as soon as possible.
- And, finally, the release date for FIFA16 is too late. With the EPL starting this past weekend, who wants to wait until late September to play?
If you want to reach Julian, email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @juliancardillo
